U.S. patent application number 13/573125 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-20 for method and system for brokering services with time-dependent labor rates.
Invention is credited to Shahryar Jamshidi.
Application Number | 20120323742 13/573125 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45527649 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120323742 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jamshidi; Shahryar |
December 20, 2012 |
Method and system for brokering services with time-dependent labor
rates
Abstract
Service Providers (SPs) enter on a Broker Website a profile of
their services, workdays, and Daily Labor Rates (DLRs). Users
access the Website, and enter services they require, and when. The
Website displays the identities, profiles, and DLRs of SPs who can
do the required work during the User's time window. SPs set DLRs,
directly or via criteria by which the Website calculates them,
including by applying a Discount for Days Out from the present day.
The User selects a SP and requests a booking for a date, locking in
the DLR, if accepted. Once the work is completed, the SP bills the
User, and is paid, through the Broker Website. The invention also
allows an individual to use an enabled mobile communication device
to show his presence at a particular time and place, including to
establish his presence at the agreed time and place for performance
of Brokered services.
Inventors: |
Jamshidi; Shahryar; (San
Jose, CA) |
Family ID: |
45527649 |
Appl. No.: |
13/573125 |
Filed: |
August 24, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12804841 |
Jul 30, 2010 |
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13573125 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/27.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0201 20130101;
G06Q 10/0631 20130101; G06Q 10/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/27.1 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20120101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A computerized on-line method for brokering labor of Service
Providers to Users, comprising the steps of: a. providing a digital
computer server, with required resources of processing devices,
memory storage, user input and output devices, and connection to a
public network, and programmed with computer instructions, for
performing the following steps, b. creating on the server a Broker
Website, and permitting Service Providers to access the Broker
Website over a public network, enroll on the Broker Website as
Service Providers, and offer their services to Users on the Broker
Website, c. storing in computer memory profiles of enrolled Service
Providers, including their respective offered services, their
present and future Regular Workdays, and their time-dependent Daily
Labor Rates to be charged on each of those Regular Workdays, d.
permitting Users to access the Broker Website over the public
network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website, and to designate
classes of services they desire to purchase, and a time window
during which they wish the desired services to be performed, e.
displaying to the enrolled User who has designated such desired
services a listing and profiles of those Service Providers that
offer, on Regular Workdays falling within the User-designated time
window, the services designated by the User, and those Service
Providers' respective applicable daily labor rates (DLRs) on each
such Regular Workday, f. permitting the enrolled User to select a
Service Provider, and enter on the Broker Website a request for a
booking with that Service Provider for performance of the desired
work at a requested time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby
locking in the Daily Labor Rate that will apply if the selected
Service Provider accepts a booking to perform the desired services
on the selected date, g. permitting the selected Service Provider
to log in to the Broker Website, to receive the User's booking
request, to communicate with the User if necessary to select a
mutually agreeable time on the selected date for performance of the
work, and to communicate to the User the acceptance or rejection of
the booking, locking in the displayed DLR for the selected date
when the booking for that date is accepted.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein enrolled Service Providers are
permitted to log in to the Broker Website and directly set
applicable DLRs for all displayed Regular Workdays.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein enrolled Service Providers are
permitted to log in to the Broker Website and set up criteria by
which their respective time-dependent DLRs are automatically
calculated for a First Regular Workday and for subsequent Regular
Workdays.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more Service Providers
establish normal, falling, variable Daily Labor Rates for Regular
Workdays by the following steps: a. entering in the computer a
Maximum DLR for the Service Provider's services, b. entering in the
computer a Minimum DLR for the Service Provider's services, c.
entering in the computer a positive Discount for Days Out (DFDO)
for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular Workday, d.
when a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a search for a
Service Provider, displaying a DLR for each Regular Workday,
calculated as follows: (1) for the First Regular Workday, the
Maximum DLR, (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday, the previous
Regular Workday's DLR minus the DFDO, (3) when any Regular
Workday's calculated DLR would be less than the Minimum DLR, the
Minimum DLR, and, e. at the end of each Regular Workday, resetting
the displayed DLR for the First Regular Workday to the Maximum DLR,
and repeating step d, calculating and displaying the new applicable
DLRs for each subsequent Regular Workday.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more Service Providers
establish recessionary, falling, variable daily labor rates (DLRs)
for Regular Workdays by the following steps: a. entering in the
computer a Minimum DLR for the Service Provider's services, b.
entering in the computer a Maximum DLR for the Service Provider's
services, c. entering in the computer a negative Discount for Days
Out (DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular
Workday, d. when a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a
search for a Service Provider, displaying a DLR for each Regular
Workday, calculated as follows: (1) for the First Regular Workday,
the Minimum DLR, (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday, the
previous Regular Workday's DLR plus the absolute value of the
negative DFDO, (3) when any Regular Workday's calculated DLR would
be greater than the Maximum DLR, the Maximum DLR, and, e. at the
end of each Regular Workday, resetting the displayed DLR for the
First Regular Workday to the Minimum DLR, and repeating step d.,
calculating and displaying the new applicable DLRs for each
subsequent Regular Workday.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the DFDO used to calculate the
DLR for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular Workday is
itself a function of the number of Regular Workdays out from the
First Regular Workday.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the enrolled Service Provider is
permitted to log on to the Broker Website and cause the website to
display, for a specified calendar time period, an arbitrarily
chosen DLR rather than one calculated using the DFDO, after which
specified time period the displayed rates resume being calculated
based upon the DFDO and DLR in effect immediately before the
specified time period.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the enrolled Service Provider is
permitted to log on to the Broker Website and cause the website to
display, for a specified calendar time period, an arbitrarily
chosen DLR rather than one calculated using the DFDO, after which
specified time period the displayed rates resume being calculated
based upon the DFDO and DLR in effect immediately before the
specified time period.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected Service Provider's
acceptance or rejection of an enrolled User's request for a booking
on a selected Regular Workday, at the Service Provider's specified
labor rate for that date, is posted to the Broker Website, where it
is displayed to the User when the User again logs on to the Broker
Website.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of
permitting a Service Provider from whom a booking is requested by a
User on the Broker Website to communicate with the requesting User
via the Broker Website to attempt to negotiate a booking for a
different date and time than initially requested, locking in an
agreed DLR for performance of requested services on the new agreed
date and time
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of
permitting a Service Provider from whom a booking is requested and
the requesting User to communicate via the Broker Website to
negotiate a booking in which the Service Provider provides a total
estimated price for all services specified by User.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of
permitting the Service Provider and the User to negotiate via the
Broker Website a firm price quote for which the Service Provider
commits to perform all services specified by the User.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein, once the agreed services are
completed, the Service Provider is permitted to log on to the
Broker Website and transmit to the website a bill to the User for
those services, which the User can access by logging on to the
Broker Website.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the Broker Website accepts a
payment from the User on behalf of the Service Provider.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the Broker Website deducts a
service change for handling the payment transaction before
forwarding the User payment to the Service Provider.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more Service Providers
enrolled on the Broker Website are mobile Service Providers,
performing brokered services at the User's location.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more Service Providers
operate from set business locations, to which Users come to receive
the Service Providers' brokered services once a booking is
accepted.
18. A computerized on-line system for brokering labor of Service
Providers to Users, comprising: a. a digital computer server, with
required resources of processing devices, memory storage, user
input and output devices, and connection to a public network, and
programmed with computer instructions, for performing the following
steps, b. creating on the server a Broker Website, and permitting
Service Providers to access the Broker Website over a public
network, enroll on the Broker Website as Service Providers, and
offer their services to Users on the Broker Website, c. storing in
computer memory profiles of enrolled Service Providers, including
their respective offered services, their present and future Regular
Workdays, and their time-dependent Daily Labor Rates to be charged
on each of those Regular Workdays, d. permitting Users to access
the Broker Website over the public network, to enroll as Users on
the Broker Website, and to designate classes of services they
desire to purchase, and a time window during which they wish the
desired services to be performed, e. displaying to the enrolled
User who has designated such desired services a listing and
profiles of those Service Providers that offer, on Regular Workdays
falling within the User-designated time window, the services
designated by the User, and those Service Providers' respective
applicable daily labor rates (DLRs) on each such Regular Workday,
f. permitting the enrolled User to select a Service Provider, and
enter on the Broker Website a request for a booking with that
Service Provider for performance of the desired work at a requested
time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby locking in the Daily
Labor Rate that will apply if the selected Service Provider accepts
a booking to perform the desired services on the selected date, g.
permitting the selected Service Provider to log in to the Broker
Website, to receive the User's booking request, to communicate with
the User if necessary to select a mutually agreeable time on the
selected date for performance of the work, and to communicate to
the User the acceptance or rejection of the booking, locking in the
displayed DLR for the selected date when the booking for that date
is accepted.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein enrolled Service Providers are
permitted to log in to the Broker Website and directly set
applicable DLRs for all displayed Regular Workdays.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein enrolled Service Providers are
permitted to log in to the Broker Website and set up criteria by
which their respective time-dependent DLRs are automatically
calculated for a First Regular Workday and for subsequent Regular
Workdays.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein one or more Service Providers
establish normal, falling, variable Daily Labor Rates for Regular
Workdays by the following steps: a. entering in the computer a
Maximum DLR for the Service Provider's services, b. entering in the
computer a Minimum DLR for the Service Provider's services, c.
entering in the computer a positive Discount for Days Out (DFDO)
for each Regular Workday out from the first Regular Workday, d.
when a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a search for a
Service Provider, displaying a DLR for each Regular Workday,
calculated as follows: (1) for the first Regular Workday, the
Maximum DLR, (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday, the previous
Regular Workday's DLR minus the DFDO, (3) when any Regular
Workday's calculated DLR would be less than the Minimum DLR, the
Minimum DLR, and, e. at the end of each Regular Workday, resetting
the displayed DLR for the first Regular Workday to the Maximum DLR,
and repeating step d., calculating and displaying the new
applicable DLRs for each subsequent Regular Workday.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein one or more Service Providers
establish recessionary, rising, variable daily labor rates (DLRs)
for Regular Workdays by the following steps: a. entering in the
computer a Minimum DLR for the Service Provider's services, b.
entering in the computer a Maximum DLR for the Service Provider's
services, c. entering in the computer a negative Discount for Days
Out (DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular
Workday, d. when a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a
search for a Service Provider, displaying a DLR for each Regular
Workday, calculated as follows: (1) for the First Regular Workday,
the Minimum DLR, (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday, the
previous Regular Workday's DLR plus the absolute value of the
negative DFDO, (3) when any Regular Workday's calculated DLR would
be greater than the Maximum DLR, the Maximum DLR, and, e. at the
end of each Regular Workday, resetting the displayed DLR for the
First Regular Workday to the Minimum DLR, and repeating step d.,
calculating and displaying the new applicable DLRs for each
subsequent Regular Workday.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the enrolled Service Provider
is permitted to log on to the Broker Website and cause the computer
to display, for a specified calendar time period, an arbitrarily
chosen DLR rather than one calculated using the DFDO, after which
specified time period the displayed rates resume being calculated
based upon the DFDO and DLR in effect immediately before the
specified time period.
24. The system of claim 22, wherein the enrolled Service Provider
is permitted to log on to the Broker Website and cause the computer
to display, for a specified calendar time period, an arbitrarily
chosen DLR rather than one calculated using the DFDO, after which
specified time period the displayed rates resume being calculated
based upon the DFDO and DLR in effect immediately before the
specified time period.
25. A computer software product stored on machine-readable media,
the product comprising machine executable instructions enabling a
digital computer server, with required resources of processing
devices, memory storage, user input and output devices, and
connection to a public network, to broker labor of Service
Providers to Users, by carrying out the steps of: a. creating on
the server a Broker Website, and permitting Service Providers to
access the Broker Website over a public network, enroll on the
Broker Website as Service Providers, and offer their services to
Users on the Broker Website, b. storing in computer memory profiles
of enrolled Service Providers, including their respective offered
services, their present and future Regular Workdays, and their
time-dependent Daily Labor Rates to be charged on each of those
Regular Workdays, c. permitting Users to access the Broker Website
over the public network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website,
and to designate classes of services they desire to purchase, and a
time window during which they wish the desired services to be
performed, d. displaying to the enrolled User who has designated
such desired services a listing and profiles of those Service
Providers that offer, on Regular Workdays falling within the
User-designated time window, the services designated by the User,
and those Service Providers' respective applicable daily labor
rates (DLRs) on each such Regular Workday, e. permitting the
enrolled User to select a Service Provider, and enter on the Broker
Website a request for a booking with that Service Provider for
performance of the desired work at a requested time on a selected
Regular Workday, thereby locking in the Daily Labor Rate that will
apply if the selected Service Provider accepts a booking to perform
the desired services on the selected date, f. permitting the
selected Service Provider to log in to the Broker Website, to
receive the User's booking request, to communicate with the User if
necessary to select a mutually agreeable time on the selected date
for performance of the work, and to communicate to the User the
acceptance or rejection of the booking, locking in the displayed
DLR for the selected date when the booking for that date is
accepted.
26. The computer software product of claim 25, wherein the program
permits enrolled Service Providers to log in to the Broker Website
and set up criteria by which their respective time-dependent DLRs
are automatically calculated for a First Regular Workday and for
subsequent Regular Workdays.
27. The software product of claim 26, wherein the criterion for
calculating DLRs for Regular Workdays comprises setting an Initial
DLR for the First Regular Workday, a Discount for Days Out (DFDO),
and a Final DLR, then calculating the DLR for each Regular Workday
following the First Regular Workday by subtracting the DFDO from
the preceding Regular Workday's DLR, until the Regular Workday when
the Final DLR is reached, and assigning the Final DLR to that and
any subsequent Regular Workdays.
Description
PRIORITY
[0001] This is a Divisional application of, and claims priority
from, application Ser. No. 12/804,841, filed Jul. 30, 2010, by the
same sole inventor, Shahryar Jamshidi.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The field of the invention is methods and systems for
brokering services of Service Providers to Users of those services,
more specifically for online computerized brokering of services of
mobile or stationary Service Providers with time-dependent labor
rates to Users in their service areas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Service Providers struggle to fill up their schedules with
jobs. Their livelihood depends on having work at the present time,
and also knowing that they will have work in the future. A frequent
additional challenge is making sure that the Users on their
schedule actually show up for the job, so they can perform the
scheduled work and be paid for it.
[0004] At the same time, potential Users generally look for the
lowest available price consistent with the importance they place on
the time frame for getting the job done. A User with a leaking
water pipe is likely to place a very high premium on getting the
repair work done as soon as possible, meaning both wanting a way to
find an immediately available Service Provider, and being willing
to pay a higher price than he might if he could afford to wait
several days for the work to be done. Conversely, a User whose
problem is less pressing is likely to be more willing to wait a
while for the work to be done, and to expect to pay commensurately
less for the work. In addition, Users would also like to be able to
enforce the terms of the service agreement if the other party fails
to show up at the appointed time and place to do the work.
[0005] What is needed is a method and system that allows a User to
locate and arrange to obtain the services of a Service Provider in
the area who is available to perform the required work on a
schedule that fits the urgency, or lack of it, of the User's need,
and that also allows the User to search for and obtain the best
available pricing, consistent with that level of urgency. What is
also needed is a method and system of assisting the User or the
Service Provider in obtaining relief if the other party fails to
show up at the agreed time and place set for performance of the
work.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Many time-related factors influence the prices to be charged
to Users by Service Providers for desired services, including such
differences as whether a User booking is made on an emergency basis
(i.e., when the services are needed very soon, often on the same
day the booking is requested), or several days in advance of when
the work is to be done; whether the current state of the economy is
good (in which case Service Providers may be willing to discount
work that can be planned further ahead, as compared to work that
must be done on a short-term basis, as above), or bad (in which
case service providers may be anxious to nail down work now, and so
make it less expensive for Users who are willing to go ahead and
get the work done right away, as compared with Users who delay
getting the work done); and whether the work is desired to be done
on, say, a holiday or a weekend, or on a day when numerous prior
bookings exist, making the latest User difficult to fit in.
[0007] This invention enables Service Providers (SPs) to display
their time-variable labor rates to Users, helping to fill their
present and future work schedules, based on the way they choose to
discount their Daily Labor Rate (DLR) on various future days, as
compared to what they would charge for such services on the present
day. The invention displays the Service Providers and their
variable labor rates to Users--potential customers for their
services--and permits a User to request a booking with a particular
Service Provider for a specific date and time, locking in the
displayed labor is rate for the agreed performance date. The method
works as follows.
[0008] Service Providers enroll as such on the invention's
dedicated Broker Website, accessible on a public network, and input
their Regular Workdays (defined as the present and future days on
which a SP would typically be at work and available to perform
their offered services) and regular hours, setting their Daily
Labor Rates on each of those Regular Workdays. Users enroll as such
on the Broker Website, and input the types of services they
require, and the time window in which they desire to have them
performed.
[0009] The Broker Website then displays to the User a listing and
profiles of those Service Providers that have Regular Workdays
during the User's defined time window, and those SPs' variable DLRs
for those Regular Workdays. The DLRs shown on the Broker Website
are set by the Service Providers, either by directly inserting them
into the Website, or by designating criteria by which the Website's
computer can automatically calculate them. One way the Service
Provider can do the latter is to establish a "Discount for Days
Out" (DFDO) going forward from the First Regular Workday, defined
as the day a User consults the listing, if that day is a Regular
Workday, or, if that day is not a Regular Workday, the first
upcoming Regular Workday.
[0010] This Discount for Days Out, in a normal, growing economy, is
positive, i.e., the DLR falls by the DFDO each Regular Workday,
until a preset lowest DLR is reached. In a recessionary economy,
the Service Provider can set a negative DFDO, so that the DLR rises
by the DFDO each Regular Workday, until a preset maximum DLR is
reached. In this way, the Service Provider can, in normal economic
times, assure that future days will be filled, by allowing Users to
realize a discount if they are willing to wait a while to have the
work done; but, in slow times, can give Users an incentive to get
the work done as soon as possible, by causing the DLR to rise in
the future, compared to the present day.
[0011] The Service Provider can also set up the parameters for a
DFDO calculation of DLR for each day, but then cause the computer
to interrupt this calculation, display an arbitrarily-set DLR for
some defined period of time, and then resume the DFDO calculations
after the last day of that set DLR period, returning to start the
DFDO calculation from the last previous calculated DLR.
[0012] After being presented with the list of Service Providers and
their time-variable DLRs, the User selects a Service Provider and
requests, through the Broker Website, a booking with the selected
Service Provider for a specified date and time, locking in a labor
rate on the agreed performance date, subject to the Service
Provider's acceptance of the booking. If the booking is accepted,
often after further communication between User and Service Provider
about alternate times and/or dates for performance of the work, an
agreement is reached for performance of the work at a specific
date, time, and place, at the applicable Daily Labor Rate.
[0013] When the work is completed, the Service Provider so notifies
the Broker Website, and submits a bill for the services performed,
to be paid by the User. The User can pay the Service Provider's
bill via the Website by any standard mechanism, including credit or
debit card. The Broker Website then remits the payment, generally
less a service charge, to the Service Provider.
[0014] The invention also includes a way for an individual to
demonstrate his physical presence at a particular time and place,
including the situation when proof of such presence will
demonstrate his having shown up at an appointed time and place for
performance of an agreed service brokered through a Broker Website.
In this method, the individual carries a mobile communication
device that can track the location of the device, and
simultaneously detect selected biometric parameters of the
individual carrying it, and transmit these data together to a
remote computer. The computer, previously loaded with the
corresponding biometric data for registered persons, records the
location and biometric data from the device, as well as the time at
which the signal from the device was sent, and can thereby
determine the physical location of the mobile communication device
at that time, and, by comparison of the transmitted biometric data
with that loaded earlier, verify that a particular registered
individual was present at a specified location at the time of
transmission of the signal. This allows, in one embodiment, either
party to a service contract entered into through the Broker
Website, the User or the Service Provider, to transmit such data to
the Broker Website, and establish that party's presence at the
agreed time and place for performance of the work, in case the
other party doesn't show up.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates various conditions that cause
time-dependent variations in Daily Labor Rates for Service
Providers.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates the process by which a Service Provider
sets up the system to apply the present method to set and display
Daily Labor Rates for his Regular Workdays, present and future.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates the process by which a User inputs to the
system the type of work and desired time window for its
performance, views a list of SPs and their respective DLRs, selects
a Service Provider and desired date and time for performance of the
work, and requests a booking for that date and time, locking in the
Daily Labor Rate for the date selected, subject to the Service
Provider accepting the requested booking, and the Service Provider
then accepts or rejects the requested booking.
[0018] FIG. 4A illustrates the way the system is set up to allow it
to establish the physical presence of an individual at a relevant
time and place.
[0019] FIG. 4B illustrates the use of the system by a User or
Service Provider who is party to a brokered service agreement, to
establish that that party kept his end of the agreement for
services by showing up at the appointed time and place for
performance, if the other party did not do so.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND DRAWINGS
[0020] The present invention comprises a method and system to allow
a plurality of Service Providers (SPs) to display to a plurality of
Users who require the Service Providers' offered services, on a
dedicated Broker Website accessible to Service Providers and Users
over a public network, the Service Providers' respective profiles
of available services, and a calendar showing the Regular Workdays
on which they would typically be available to perform those
services, and their respective Daily Labor Rates (DLRs) on those
Regular Workdays, including the time-dependent variation of those
DLRs.
[0021] Numerous factors affect the labor rates charged by Service
Providers, some within the control of the SP, and some not. FIG. 1
illustrates some of these factors. The labor rate 101 for a given
day is influenced by the several factors shown. First, the temporal
position 103 of the jobs with respect to the present time--how
quickly the User needs or wants to have the work done. On an
advanced booking for a number of days out 109 the labor rate will
generally be significantly lower than for a job that must be booked
and performed on an emergency basis 111, not only because the User
is willing to pay more for the emergency job, but also because the
Service Provider has more flexibility in terms of scheduling the
routine job--fitting it in with his other scheduled work, obtaining
the required labor and materials, etc. A second factor is the state
of the economy 105. When the economy is in a healthy, growing,
condition 115, Service Providers are generally willing to discount
the labor rate for days out from the present day (i.e., give a
positive Discount for Days Out, or DFDO, on the Daily Labor Rate),
both because of the absence on those later days of the conditions
that support the emergency pricing discussed above, and because by
allowing Users to benefit pricewise from the work being done on a
less urgent basis, the SP can capture as customers Users who might
be less interested if they were only able to buy his services at
his maximum daily labor date. However, when the economy is in a
weaker, recessionary, condition 113, the Service Provider may
actually choose to start out at a low rate, and then increase the
labor rate for days out from the present (i.e., apply a negative
DFDO), to give users a strong incentive to make a decision to go
ahead and buy the services now, filling up the SP's present and
near-future days, at a time when he is most anxious to capture new
business. A third factor is the availability of the Service
Provider to take on more work on any given day. Two aspects of this
dependence on the day's work load 107 are the willingness of the SP
to make into Regular Workdays, temporarily or permanently, days
which would not normally be so, e.g., holidays and weekends 117,
and the SPs handling of days on which the number of previous
bookings for the day in question render it much more difficult for
the SP to fit in the performance of work desired by a User 119. In
both cases, SPs may desire to charge, and Users may be willing to
pay, higher labor rates, both in recognition of the common
unavailability of many or most SPs on such days, and because the
SP's decision to make himself available, despite the reasons to the
contrary, permits User-needed work to be done sooner than would
otherwise be the case.
[0022] A computerized on-line method for brokering the labor of
Service Providers to Users who require their services, includes the
following steps:
[0023] a. Providing a digital computer server that has the required
resources of processing devices, memory storage, and user input and
output devices, that has a connection to a public network, and that
is programmed with computer instructions, to carry out the
following steps.
[0024] b. Creating on that server a Broker Website, and permitting
Service Providers to access that Broker Website over a public
network, to enroll on the Broker Website as Service Providers, and
to offer their services to Users who access the Broker Website.
[0025] c. Storing in computer memory the profiles of enrolled
Service Providers, including their respective offered services,
their present and future Regular Workdays--the days and times on
which they would ordinarily be available to perform the listed
services--and the time-dependent Daily Labor Rates (DLRs) that they
will be charging for services performed on each of those Regular
Workdays.
[0026] d. Permitting Users, persons or businesses who are seeking
services of the types offered by the enrolled Service Providers on
the Broker Website, to access the Broker Website over the public
network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website, and to designate
the classes of services they desire to purchase, and a time
window--a range of dates--during which they wish to have the
desired services performed.
[0027] e. Displaying to the enrolled User who has designated such
desired services and a time window for their performance, a listing
and the profiles of those Service Providers that offer, on Regular
Workdays falling within the User-designated time window, the
services designated by the User, along with those Service
Providers' respective applicable DLRs on each such indicated
Regular Workday.
[0028] f. Permitting the enrolled User to select a listed Service
Provider, and to enter on the Broker Website a request for a
booking with that Service Provider for performance of the desired
work at a requested time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby
locking in the Daily Labor Rate that will apply if the selected
Service Provider accepts a booking to perform the desired services
on the selected date.
[0029] g. Permitting the selected Service Provider to log in to the
Broker Website, to receive the User's booking request, to
communicate with the User if necessary to select a mutually
agreeable time on the selected date for performance of the work, if
the User's initially requested time is not available for any
reason, and to communicate to the User the acceptance or rejection
of the booking, locking in the displayed DLR for the selected date
when the booking for that date is accepted.
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates the manner in which a Service Provider
sets up his participation with the Broker Website. First 201, the
Service Provider logs in to the system, enrolls as a Service
Provider, generally paying the Broker Website an enrollment fee to
do so, and enters his profile, showing the sorts of work he is
qualified and offering to perform, and then 203 enters his Regular
Workdays, and the hours on those days, on which he plans to work,
and, in the embodiment in which the SP enables the system to
automatically calculate his Daily Labor Rates on the Regular
Workdays, he enters his Minimum and Maximum DLRs, and the DFDO he
wishes to apply to have the system calculate his DLRs for future
Regular Workdays.
[0031] In so doing, the SP must decide 205 whether to apply a
recessionary or a normal Discount for Days Out from the First
Regular Workday. If normal 207, he enters a positive DFDO. If
recessionary 211, he enters a negative DFDO. In either case, the
system calculates the applicable DLRs for the Regular Workdays--in
the normal case, 209, starting at the Maximum DLR on the First
Regular Workday and reducing the labor rate by the DFDO for each
following Regular Workday, until the Minimum DLR is reached, and
assigning the Minimum DLR to that and all subsequent Regular
Workdays; in the recessionary case, 213, starting at the Minimum
DLR on the First Regular Workday, and increasing the labor rate by
the absolute value of the (negative) DFDO for each following
Regular Workday, until the Maximum DLR is reached, and assigning
the Maximum DLR to that and all subsequent Regular Workdays. The
system then 215 calculates and enters the calculated DLRs for all
Regular Workdays on the Service Provider's labor rate calendar, and
allows the SP to view and, if desired, modify the values used to
perform those calculations. The system then permits the SP to
modify the calendar 217. He can, for example, provide a fixed DLR
for specific selected days, replacing the DLRs that would otherwise
be calculated for those days using the DFDO. This might be done to
raise the rate for a day or more on account of there being earlier
bookings for those days; or to offer a lower sale price for a time,
to attract more Users. Or, he can decide to insert a new Regular
Workday on what was originally listed as a holiday on which he
would not work, manually setting a new, likely higher, fixed DLR
for that day. Once he completes making any such modifications, the
system recalculates and displays 219 the revised DLRs for all
Regular Workdays on the SP's calendar.
[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the instant method, Users log
in and enroll as Users on the Broker Website, and are prompted to
designate the class or classes of services that they need 301, and
the time window in which they desire to have the services provided
303. Once a User has entered this data onto the Broker Website, the
Website displays to the User 305 the identities and profiles of
those Service Providers who do the sort of work required by the
User, and who have Regular Workdays during the time period
designated by the User, on which they would ordinarily be able to
provide the needed services, along with the DLRs that will be
charged by the respective Service Providers on their listed Regular
Workdays. The User then selects a desired Service Provider 307, and
submits to the SP, via the Website, a request for a booking at a
requested time on a requested Regular Workday on the SP's calendar
309, locking in the DLR shown for that date in the event that the
SP accepts the booking. The Service Provider receives the request
for a booking, communicates with the requesting User if necessary
to negotiate a different time or date than originally requested by
the User, then confirms or rejects the booking 311, finalizing the
agreement to perform the agreed work on the agreed date and time,
at the applicable Daily Labor Rate for that day.
[0033] In one embodiment, enrolled Service Providers are permitted
to log in to the Broker Website and directly set the applicable
DLRs for all displayed Regular Workdays.
[0034] In an advantageous embodiment, enrolled Service Providers
are permitted to log in to the Broker Website and set up criteria
by which their respective time-dependent DLRs are automatically
calculated by the server for a First Regular Workday (Again, "First
Regular Workday" is defined as either the present day, if it is a
Regular Workday, or, if the present day is not a Regular Workday,
the first upcoming Regular Workday after the present day.) and for
subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0035] In an especially advantageous embodiment described above in
connection with FIG. 2, typically applicable in a growing economy,
one or more Service Providers establish normal, falling, variable
Daily Labor Rates for each listed Regular Workday, giving Users the
opportunity to pay lower labor rates if they are willing to have
the desired services performed on a less urgent basis, and keeping
the Service Provider's calendar full well into the future, by
establishing a Maximum DLR to be displayed for the First Regular
Workday, and then calculating the DLR on subsequent Regular
Workdays by applying a positive Discount for Days Out (DFDO) from
the First Regular Workday, by the following steps:
[0036] a. Entering in the computer a Maximum DLR for the Service
Provider's services.
[0037] b. Entering in the computer a Minimum DLR for the Service
Provider's services, below which the discounted DLR will not be
permitted to fall, no matter how many Regular Workdays out from the
First Regular Workday.
[0038] c. Entering in the computer a positive Discount for Days Out
(DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular
Workday.
[0039] d. When a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a
search for a Service Provider that provides the desired services,
with Regular Workdays within the User's time window, and to see
those Service Providers' DLRs on their Regular Workdays, present
and future, displaying a DLR for each Regular Workday, calculated
as follows: [0040] (1) For the First Regular Workday, the Maximum
DLR is displayed. [0041] (2) For each subsequent Regular Workday,
the displayed DLR is the previous Regular Workday's DLR minus the
DFDO. [0042] (3) When any Regular Workday's calculated DLR would be
less than the Minimum DLR, the displayed DLR for that Regular
Workday is the Minimum DLR.
[0043] e. At the end of each Regular Workday, the displayed DLR for
the First Regular Workday is reset to the Maximum DLR, and step d.
is repeated, calculating and displaying the new applicable DLRs for
each subsequent Regular Workday.
(See discussion of FIG. 2, above, items 207, 209, and 215.)
[0044] In another advantageous embodiment discussed in connection
with FIG. 2, above, typically applicable in a depressed economy,
one or more Service Providers establish recessionary, rising,
variable Daily Labor Rates for each listed Regular Workday,
providing a price incentive to Users to get the desired work done
sooner rather than later, and keeping the Service Provider as
booked as possible on the present and immediate future days, by
establishing a Minimum DLR to be displayed for the First Regular
Workday, and then calculating the DLR on subsequent Regular
Workdays by applying a negative Discount for Days Out (DFDO) from
the First Regular Workday, causing the most attractive day,
pricewise, to be the day the User logs in to the Broker Website,
with prices rising thereafter, to encourage Users to contract for
the desired services at the earliest practical date. This is
accomplished by the following steps:
[0045] a. Entering in the computer a Minimum DLR for the Service
Provider's services.
[0046] b. Entering in the computer a Maximum DLR for the Service
Provider's services, above which the DLR will not be permitted to
rise, no matter how many Regular Workdays out from the First
Regular Workday.
[0047] c. Entering in the computer a negative Discount for Days Out
(DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the First Regular
Workday.
[0048] d. When a User logs in to the Broker Website to perform a
search for a Service Provider that provides the desired services,
with Regular Workdays within the User's time window, and to see
those Service Providers' DLRs on their Regular Workdays, present
and future, displaying a DLR for each Regular Workday, calculated
as follows: [0049] (1) For the First Regular Workday, the Minimum
DLR is displayed. [0050] (2) For each subsequent Regular Workday,
the displayed DLR is the to previous Regular Workday's DLR plus the
absolute value of the negative DFDO. [0051] (3) When any Regular
Workday's calculated DLR would be greater than the Maximum DLR, the
displayed DLR for that Regular Workday is the Maximum DLR.
[0052] e. At the end of each Regular Workday, the displayed DLR for
the First Regular Workday is reset to the Minimum DLR, and step d.
is repeated, calculating and displaying the new applicable DLRs for
each subsequent Regular Workday. (See discussion of FIG. 2, above,
items 211, 213, and 215.)
[0053] Typically, the DFDO in the above methods is either a preset
monetary amount, or a preset percentage of the previous day's DLR.
In another embodiment, the DFDO is itself calculated for each
Regular Workday, as a function of the number of Regular Workdays
out from the First Regular Workday.
[0054] In an embodiment of the above-described methods, an enrolled
Service Provider is permitted to log on to the Broker Website and
cause the computer to display, for a specified calendar time
period, an arbitrarily chosen DLR rather than one calculated using
the DFDO, after which specified time period the displayed rates
resume being calculated based upon the DFDO and DLR in effect
immediately before the specified time period. (See discussion of
FIG. 2, above, item 217.)
[0055] In one embodiment, the selected Service Provider's
acceptance or rejection of an enrolled User's request for a booking
on a selected Regular Workday, at the Service Provider's specified
labor rate for that date, is posted on the Broker Website, where it
is displayed to the User when the User again logs on to the Broker
Website.
[0056] Another advantageous embodiment includes the step of
permitting a Service Provider from whom a booking is requested by a
User on the Broker Website to communicate with the requesting User
via the Broker Website to attempt to negotiate a booking for a
different date and time than initially requested, locking in an
agreed DLR for performance of requested services on the new agreed
date and time. (See discussion of FIG. 3, above, item 311.)
[0057] Another advantageous embodiment includes the step of
permitting a Service Provider from whom a booking is requested and
the requesting User to communicate via the Broker Website to
negotiate a booking in which the Service Provider provides a total
estimated price for all services specified by User. Even if not a
firm price, this gives the User a much clearer idea how much labor,
and therefore how much expense, is likely to be involved in
completing the job.
[0058] Yet another advantageous embodiment includes the step of
permitting the Service Provider and the User to negotiate via the
Broker Website a firm price quote for which the Service Provider
commits to perform all services specified by the User. While the
agreement may allow price adjustments based on unforeseen
circumstances, changed scope requested later by the User, etc., a
firm quote greatly eases the user's budget process, especially for
very large jobs.
[0059] In another highly advantageous embodiment, once the agreed
services are completed, the Service Provider is permitted to log on
to the Broker Website and transmit to the Website a bill to the
User for those services, which the User can access by logging on to
the Broker Website.
[0060] In an especially advantageous embodiment the Broker Website,
having received the bill from the Service Provider and communicated
it to the contracting User, accepts payment from the User on behalf
of the Service Provider. This payment can be made by any convenient
method, including by credit or debit card.
[0061] In another advantageous embodiment, the Broker Website
deducts a service change for handling the payment transaction
before forwarding the User payment to the Service Provider.
[0062] In one embodiment, the method includes having one or more
Service Providers enrolled on the Broker Website who are Mobile
Service Providers, performing brokered services at the User's
location. These Mobile Service Providers can be set up to
communicate with the Broker Website and requesting Users via a
mobile communication device, from their constantly changing
locations.
[0063] In another embodiment, one or more Service Providers operate
from set business locations, to which Users come to receive the
Service Providers' brokered services once a booking is
accepted.
[0064] A related method that is encompassed by this invention
provides a way of verifying the physical location of an individual,
at a given date and time. The method includes providing a digital
computer, with required resources of processing devices, memory
storage, user input and output devices, and connection to a public
network, and programmed with computer instructions, for carrying
out the following steps: storing selected biometric data on the
individual, receiving and processing data transmitted to the
computer by a mobile communication device carried by the
individual, which device is capable of measuring and transmitting
to the computer the simultaneous values of an accurate physical
location of the mobile communication device, and corresponding
biometric data on the individual carrying the device. The computer
then compares the received biometric data with corresponding
biometric data for the individual, previously stored on the
computer, to verify the identity of the individual in possession of
the mobile communication device. The transmitted location and
biometric data are time-stamped upon receipt by the computer. In
this way, the computer can verify the personal physical presence of
the individual carrying the mobile communication device at a
particular location at a relevant time. The Website's computer
preferably has the capability to convert the location information
transmitted by the mobile communication device, in the form of GPS
coordinates, into the corresponding street address, if one
exists.
[0065] The biometric data gathered by the mobile communication
device and transmitted to the computer can be any form of
information that allows a positive identification of the individual
when compared to the previously stored corresponding data on the
individual. Such information could include, without limitation,
unique data from the individual's fingerprints, facial recognition
parameters, a retinal scan, or DNA samples.
[0066] In an advantageous embodiment of the above method, the
individual is a User or Service Provider who is a party to a
service agreement, brokered by a Broker Website, providing that an
agreed service is to be performed at a specified place and time,
who carries the mobile communication device and uses it to send the
location and biometric data, from the specified location, at the
specified time, to the Broker Website. The website, on whose server
the contracting party's biometric data was previously stored when
the party registered with the Broker Website, can match the
transmitted biometric data with the previously stored biometric
data, and verify that the registered party was physically present
at the place and time specified for performance of the agreed
service.
[0067] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the above
method, the Broker Website records and retains the location and
biometric data, sent to the Website by the party to the service
agreement, and the time at which it was sent, in a form usable to
document the presence of that party at the specified time and place
for performance of the agreed service. This permits either party to
a service agreement to have ready access to the proof of his
physical presence at the time and place set for performance of the
agreed service, and have it in a form that should prove difficult
for the party who did not show up to challenge.
[0068] In a further advantageous embodiment of the above method,
the Broker Website provides a written certification attesting to
the presence of either contracting party carrying the mobile
communication device at the specified time and place, in the event
that the other party to the agreement failed to show up. This
provides the party who did show up at the appointed time and place
with solid evidence of that fact, which will render it difficult
for the no-show contracting party to contest.
[0069] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate how this method and system work,
including for an individual who is party to a service agreement set
up by the Broker Website.
[0070] First, in FIG. 4A, an individual downloads 401 onto a mobile
communication device, which has a GPS capable of accurately
tracking its location, and which also has the capability to scan a
biometric identifying characteristic of the individual, software
from the Broker Website server that enables the device to transmit
to the Broker Website server the simultaneous values of the scanned
biometric data and the location of the device. The individual
registers 403 with the Broker Website, and provides an e-mail or
other address to which the Broker Website is to send a written
certification that he was physically present at a relevant time and
place. When prompted by the Website 405, the individual uses the
enabled mobile communication device to send to the Website the
identifiable biometric data on the individual, to which
subsequently measured and transmitted corresponding biometric data
will be compared. This biometric data is stored 407 on the
Website's server for future reference.
[0071] Then, in FIG. 4B, if the other party to a brokered service
agreement did not show up at the appointed time and place 411, the
individual User or SP carrying the mobile communication device
scans his biometric data into the device, and the device sends that
data, along with the precise location of the device, to the Broker
Website's server 413. The server time-stamps the receipt of the
data 415 and searches for a match with biometric data stored for
persons who registered with the Website and provided their data for
this purpose 417. If the server finds that the received biometric
data matches the stored data of the registered User or SP
transmitting it 419, the Website sends to the address provided by
that party a certification that he was at the transmitted location
at the time of the transmission 421. That party can then use that
certification to establish 423 that he showed up as agreed for the
performance of the work, whereas the other party to the agreement
did not. If the Website's server finds that the transmitted
biometric data does not match that of the individual using the
device, it will so inform the sender 425, indicating that it cannot
certify the presence of the individual at the time and place set
for performance of the work, possibly because the individual has
not previously registered and provided his biometric identifying
data to the Website's server.
[0072] The invention also encompasses the corresponding system for
brokering labor of Service Providers to Users by applying the
claimed method, which system includes:
[0073] a. A digital computer server, with required resources of
processing devices, memory storage, user input and output devices,
and connection to a public network, and programmed with computer
instructions, for performing the following steps of the method.
[0074] b. Creating on the server a Broker Website, and permitting
Service Providers to access the Broker Website over a public
network, enroll on the Broker Website as Service Providers, and
offer their services to Users on the Broker Website.
[0075] c. Storing in computer memory profiles of enrolled Service
Providers, including their respective offered services, their
present and future Regular Workdays, and their time-dependent labor
rates to be charged on each of those Regular Workdays.
[0076] d. Permitting Users to access the Broker Website over the
public network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website, and to
designate classes of services they desire to purchase, and a time
window during which they wish the desired services to be
performed.
[0077] e. Displaying to the enrolled User who has designated such
desired services a listing and profiles of those Service Providers
that offer, on Regular Workdays falling within the User-designated
time window, the services designated by the User, and those Service
Providers' respective applicable daily labor rates (DLRs) on each
such Regular Workday,
[0078] f. Permitting the enrolled User to select a Service
Provider, and enter on the Broker Website a request for a booking
with that Service Provider for performance of the desired work at a
requested time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby locking in
the Daily Labor Rate that will apply if the selected Service
Provider accepts a booking to perform the desired services on the
selected date.
[0079] g. Permitting the selected Service Provider to log in to the
Broker Website, to receive the User's booking request, to
communicate with the User if necessary to select a mutually
agreeable time on the selected date for performance of the work,
and to communicate to the User the acceptance or rejection of the
booking, locking in the displayed DLR for the selected date when
the booking for that date is accepted.
[0080] In one embodiment of the above system, enrolled Service
Providers are permitted to log in to the Broker Website and
directly set applicable DLRs for a First Regular Workday and
subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0081] In an advantageous embodiment of the system, enrolled
Service Providers, in lieu of needing to individually set the DLRs
for all displayed Regular Workdays, can log in to the Broker
Website and set up criteria by which their respective
time-dependent DLRs are automatically calculated for the First and
subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0082] In an especially advantageous embodiment of the system, one
or more Service Providers are able to establish normal, falling,
variable Daily Labor Rates for Regular Workdays by the following
steps.
[0083] a. The Service Provider enters in the computer a Maximum DLR
for its services
[0084] b. The Service Provider enters in the computer a Minimum DLR
for its services.
[0085] c. The Service Provider enters in the computer a positive
Discount for Days Out (DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the
First Regular Workday.
[0086] d. When a User, who has provided the type of service
required and the desired timeframe for performance of the service,
logs in to the Broker Website to perform a search for a Service
Provider, the site displays a DLR for each Regular Workday,
calculated as follows: [0087] (1) for the First Regular Workday,
the Maximum DLR, [0088] (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday,
the previous Regular Workday's DLR minus the DFDO, [0089] (3) when
any Regular Workday's calculated DLR would be less than the Minimum
DLR, the Minimum DLR.
[0090] e. At the end of each Regular Workday, the website resets
the displayed DLR for the First Regular Workday to the Maximum DLR,
and repeats step d., calculating and displaying the new applicable
DLRs for each subsequent Regular Workday.
[0091] In another especially advantageous embodiment of the system,
applicable mainly in times of economic distress, one or more
Service Providers are able to establish recessionary, rising,
variable Daily Labor Rates for Regular Workdays by the following
steps.
[0092] a. The Service Provider enters in the computer a Maximum DLR
for its services.
[0093] b. The Service Provider enters in the computer a Minimum DLR
for its services.
[0094] c. The Service Provider enters in the computer a negative
Discount for Days Out (DFDO) for each Regular Workday out from the
First Regular Workday.
[0095] d. When a User, who has provided the type of service
required and the desired timeframe for performance of the service,
logs in to the Broker Website to perform a search for a Service
Provider, the site displays a DLR for each Regular Workday,
calculated as follows: [0096] (1) for the First Regular Workday,
the Minimum DLR, [0097] (2) for each subsequent Regular Workday,
the previous Regular Workday's DLR plus the absolute value of the
negative DFDO, [0098] (3) when any Regular Workday's calculated DLR
would be greater than the Maximum DLR, the Maximum DLR. individual,
which device is capable of measuring and transmitting to the
computer the simultaneous values of an accurate physical location
of the mobile communication device, and biometric data on the
individual measured by the device. The computer is able to compare
the biometric data with corresponding biometric data previously
stored on the computer, to verify the identity of the individual in
possession of the mobile communication device. The transmitted
location and biometric data are time-stamped upon receipt by the
computer. As discussed above with respect to the method, the
Website's computer includes the capability to convert the GPS
location information transmitted by the mobile communication device
into the corresponding street address, if one exists. In this way,
the computer can verify the personal physical presence of the
individual carrying the mobile communication device at a particular
location at a relevant time.
[0099] In an advantageous embodiment of the above system, a User or
Service Provider who is a party to a service agreement, brokered by
a Broker Website, providing that an agreed service is to be
performed at a specified place and time, carries the mobile
communication device and can use it to send the location and
biometric data, from the specified location, at the specified time,
to the Broker Website. The website, on whose server the contracting
party's biometric data was previously stored when the party
registered with the Broker Website, can match the incoming
biometric data with the previously stored biometric data, and
verify that the registered party was physically present at the
place and time specified for performance of the agreed service.
[0100] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the above
system, the Broker Website can record and retain the location and
biometric data, sent to the Website by the party to the service
agreement, and the time at which it was sent, in a form usable to
document the presence of that party at the specified time and place
for performance of the agreed service. This permits either party to
a service agreement to have ready access to the proof of his
physical presence at the time and place set for performance of the
agreed service.
[0101] In an advantageous embodiment of the above system, the
computer on which the Broker Website resides is able to provide a
written certification attesting to the contracting party's presence
at the appointed time and place, in the event that the other party
to the agreement failed to show up.
[0102] The present invention also encompasses a computer program
product stored on machine-readable media, the product comprising
machine executable instructions enabling a digital computer server,
with required resources of processing devices, memory storage, user
input and output devices, and connection to a public network, to
broker labor of Service Providers to Users, by carrying out the
steps of:
[0103] a. creating on the server a Broker Website, and permitting
Service Providers to access the Broker Website over a public
network, enroll on the Broker Website as Service Providers, and
offer their services to Users on the Broker Website,
[0104] b. storing in computer memory profiles of enrolled Service
Providers, including their respective offered services, their
present and future Regular Workdays, and their time-dependent labor
rates to be charged on each of those Regular Workdays,
[0105] c. permitting Users to access the Broker Website over the
public network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website, and to
designate classes of services they desire to purchase, and a time
window during which they wish the desired services to be
performed,
[0106] d. displaying to the enrolled User who has designated such
desired services a listing and profiles of those Service Providers
that offer, on Regular Workdays falling within the User-designated
time window, the services designated by the User, and those Service
Providers' respective applicable daily labor rates (DLRs) on each
such Regular Workday,
[0107] e. permitting the enrolled User to select a Service
Provider, and enter on the Broker Website a request for a booking
with that Service Provider for performance of the desired work at a
requested time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby locking in
the Daily Labor Rate that will apply if the selected Service
Provider accepts a booking to perform the desired services on the
selected date,
[0108] f. permitting the selected Service Provider to log in to the
Broker Website, to receive the User's booking request, to
communicate with the User if necessary to select a mutually
agreeable time on the selected date for performance of the work,
and to communicate to the User the acceptance or rejection of the
booking, locking in the displayed DLR for the selected date when
the booking for that date is accepted.
[0109] In an advantageous embodiment of the above computer software
program product the program permits enrolled Service Providers to
log in to the Broker Website and set up criteria by which their
respective time-dependent DLRs are automatically calculated for a
First Regular Workday and for subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0110] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the above
computer software program, the criterion for calculating DLRs for
Regular Workdays comprises setting an Initial DLR for the First
Regular Workday, a Discount for Days Out (DFDO) to be applied to
new Regular Workdays, and a Final DLR which the calculated DLR is
not permitted to go beyond from the initial rate. For normal
economy pricing, the Initial DLR is the Maximum DLR, the DFDO is
positive, and the Final DLR is the Minimum DLR. By contrast, for
recessionary pricing the initial DLR is the Minimum DLR, the
Discount for DFDO is negative, and the final DLR is the Maximum
DLR. The program calculates the DLR for each Regular Workday
following the First Regular Workday is by subtracting the (positive
or negative) DFDO from the preceding Regular Workday's DLR, until
the Regular Workday when the Final DLR is reached, and assigning
the Final DLR to that and any subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0111] The present invention also encompasses a computer program
product stored on machine-readable media, the product comprising
machine executable instructions enabling a digital computer server,
with required resources of processing devices, memory storage, user
input and output devices, and connection to a public network, to
verify the physical location, at a given date and time, of an
individual, based upon receiving and processing data transmitted to
the computer by a mobile communication device carried by the
individual. The device transmits simultaneous values of an accurate
physical location of the mobile communication device, and biometric
data on the individual measured by the device. The computer
receives this data, and compares the received biometric data with
corresponding biometric data on the individual previously stored on
the computer, to verify the identity of the individual in
possession of the mobile communication device. The data is
time-stamped upon receipt by the computer, whereby the computer can
verify the individual's personal physical presence at a particular
location at a relevant time.
[0112] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the above
computer program product, the individual carrying the mobile
communication device is a User or Service Provider who is a party
to a service agreement brokered by a Broker Website, such agreement
providing that an agreed service is to be performed at a specified
place and time. The individual uses the mobile communication device
to send, from the specified location, at the specified time, a
message to the Broker Website, on whose server the contracting
party's biometric data was previously stored when the party
registered with the Broker Website, the party's GPS location and
biometric data. The computer time-stamps such data upon receipt,
and compares the received and previously stored biometric data to
verify that the party was physically present at the place and time
specified for performance of the agreed service
[0113] Also encompassed by the present invention is the computer
software product, stored on machine-readable media, and comprising
machine executable instructions enabling a digital computer server,
with required resources of processing devices, memory storage, user
input and output devices, and connection to a public network, to
broker labor of Service Providers to Users, by carrying out the
steps of:
[0114] a. The computer stores in its memory a Broker Website, and
permits Service Providers to access the Broker Website over a
public network, enroll on the Broker Website as Service Providers,
and offer their services to Users on the Broker Website.
[0115] b. The computer also stores in its memory profiles of
enrolled Service is Providers, including their respective offered
services, their present and future Regular Workdays, and their
time-dependent Daily Labor Rates to be charged on each of those
Regular Workdays.
[0116] c. The computer Permits Users to access the Broker Website
over the public network, to enroll as Users on the Broker Website,
and to designate classes of services they desire to purchase, and a
time window during which they wish the desired services to be
performed.
[0117] d. The computer displays to the enrolled User who has
designated such desired services a listing and profiles of those
Service Providers that offer, on Regular Workdays falling within
the User-designated time window, the services designated by the
User, and those Service Providers' respective applicable Daily
Labor Rates (DLRs) on each such Regular Workday,
[0118] e. The computer permits the enrolled User to select a
Service Provider, and enter on the Broker Website a request for a
booking with that Service Provider for performance of the desired
work at a requested time on a selected Regular Workday, thereby
locking in the Daily Labor Rate that will apply if the selected
Service Provider accepts a booking to perform the desired services
on the selected date.
[0119] f. The computer permits the selected Service Provider to log
in to the Broker Website, to receive the User's booking request, to
communicate with the User if necessary to select a mutually
agreeable time on the selected date for performance of the work,
and to communicate to the User the acceptance or rejection of the
booking, locking in the displayed DLR for the selected date when
the booking for that date is accepted.
[0120] In an advantageous embodiment, the computer software product
also permits enrolled Service Providers to log in to the Broker
Website and set up criteria by which their respective
time-dependent DLRs are automatically calculated for a First
Regular Workday and for subsequent Regular Workdays, rather than
needing to all be manually set, and those automatically calculated
DLRs are displayed to the User selecting a SP.
[0121] In an especially advantageous embodiment, the criterion
referenced in the preceding paragraph for calculating DLRs for
Regular Workdays comprises setting an initial DLR (which for the
normal economy, positive DFDO, calculation is the Maximum DLR; and
for the recessionary, negative DFDO, calculation is the Minimum
DLR) for the First Regular Workday; setting a Discount for Days Out
(DFDO) (which is positive in the normal economy case; negative in
the recessionary case), and setting a Final DLR (which is the
Minimum DLR in the normal case; and is the Maximum DLR in the
recessionary case), then calculating the DLR for each Regular
Workday following the First Regular Workday by subtracting the DFDO
(positive in the normal case, and negative--the subtraction of
which equates to addition of the absolute value of the negative
DFDO--in the recessionary case) from the preceding Regular
Workday's DLR, until the preset Final DLR is reached, and assigning
the Final DLR to that and any subsequent Regular Workdays.
[0122] Additionally encompassed in the invention is the computer
software product, also stored on machine-readable media, and
comprising machine executable instructions enabling a digital
computer server, with required resources of processing devices,
memory storage, user input and output devices, and connection to a
public network, to verify the physical location of an individual at
a given date and time, by carrying out the following steps:
[0123] a. The computer stores selected biometric data on the
individual.
[0124] b. The computer receives and processes data transmitted to
it by a mobile communication device carried by the individual, and
capable of measuring and transmitting to the computer a signal
encompassing simultaneous values of an accurate physical location
of the mobile communication device, and corresponding biometric
data on the individual measured by the device.
[0125] c. The computer compares the received biometric data with
the corresponding biometric data on the individual previously
stored on the computer, verifying the identity of the individual in
possession of the mobile communication device.
[0126] d. The computer time-stamps the location and biometric data
upon receipt.
[0127] e. The computer thereby verifies the individual's personal
physical presence at the known location of the mobile communication
device at the time of the transmission.
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